Amanda Vanstone (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

No, but I do feel very, very strongly about students having the opportunity to invest in themselves and richer people, who can afford to pay for a place, getting the opportunity to do so to free up a place for a kid who cannot afford it.

Medicine, dentistry and veterinary science are amongst the highest costing courses. They are currently funded at the highest level for Commonwealth supported students and, therefore, they get a higher $100,000 FEE-HELP loan limit for students taking those on a fee-paying basis. The higher cost courses are often associated with higher income streams and, therefore, a greater capacity to repay loans. Higher income earners repay their loans at a faster rate, and students in these courses also tend to be highly motivated and committed to completing their studies and entering the workforce in their chosen field of experience.

In conclusion, just as a matter of interest, one of the universities confirmed for me how annoyed they were at full fee paying places. The woman concerned said—and I am not sure of the technicalities of how this happens, Senator Bartlett, so I am asking for a caveat on this that says I recall a conversation—these kids shift into HECS places in their second and third year, and doesn’t that mess up the system? Doesn’t that tell you something? It tells you that if kids are prepared to risk investing in themselves, they put a lot into it and they end up doing well. And it tells you that our selection procedures are not everything everyone thinks they are. We do not support the amendment.